A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire #1)(7)

“What is the meaning of this? Why would you bring them to me?” Derek spoke up. His voice was deep and powerful. He was breathing heavily as he said each word.

“Take them away from me.”

“We can’t do that.” Vivienne shook her head. “You’ll need to learn to control yourself with them. We will give you blood to feed on soon enough, but right now, you need to keep yourself in check when around them.”

“If you don’t want them to die, why bring them to me now?!” His voice rumbled through the cavernous hall.

Everything about his demeanor – the way his chest heaved, the way his fists clenched – made it clear that he was doing everything in his power to keep himself from attacking any one of us – perhaps even all of us.

I shuddered at the display of temper from this young man, whose immediate command we were going to be subjected to.

Vivienne didn’t seem fazed at all. In a calm, collected voice, she responded to her brother.

“Because you and I both know that if you are to face what lies ahead of you, you need to be able to control your impulse to satisfy your hunger. These women were handpicked to become part of your harem. They’re the loveliest among a recent hunt we made.”

Despite my predicament, my ears perked up at that last statement. Lovely was not something I’d ever been described as before.

Lucas chuckled. “This is cruel and unusual punishment, Vivienne. I told you that. Derek hasn’t had blood for the past four hundred years. He can’t be expected to not want to rip these girls’ heads off. Hell, I’ve been feeding for the last four hundred years and I still want to have my way with them.”

Derek, still looking like he was about to attack us at any moment, simply gave him a sideward glare before he roamed his eyes toward each of us girls – one by one.

“A harem? A hunt? Since when do we have these? Who are these girls and where exactly did you ‘hunt’ them?”

Lucas, Vivienne and the other woman present in the hall exchanged uncomfortable glances.

It was Vivienne who eventually answered the question. “They’re humans abducted from the outside world. We hunt humans from the outside world to become slaves here, to do the work necessary. Those who prove to be useless are fed on. The choicest and most beautiful among the captives are kept by the Elite as part of what we began calling a harem a long time ago. Some of the favored Lodgers also have one or two beauties of their own. The humans who form the harems are kept alive for a year and whoever owns them get to decide their ultimate fate after that.”

“It’s really just an excuse to be able to have them at their prime,” Lucas added with a smirk.

From the look on Derek’s face, he didn’t seem very happy about the explanation he’d been given. He eyed us from where he stood – the distance between us only a few strides away.

I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his mind.

“I know what you’re thinking and no, you can’t let them go, brother,” Lucas spoke up, sounding like he was talking to a five-year-old. “They’ve seen the Blood Shade. We can’t afford to risk the coven. They stay or they die.”

Derek’s expression turned to complete disgust. “They can’t be any older than we were when we were turned.”

“I know,” Lucas grinned, speaking as though it were the most amusing fact known to their kind. “They’re all seventeen.”

“The knights and guards take them at that age, because as you know, blood tastes sweeter once they reach the fullness of their womanhood at eighteen,” Vivienne explained.

Lucas scoffed at the notion. “Please. It’s all the same, but really, Derek, enjoy them. Just looking at them is already a feast. After the year ends, imagine all the wicked things you can do with them.”

Derek stood to his full height – a couple inches taller than his older brother and began walking toward us. My very first reaction was to flinch as he approached.

At that moment, the only way I could think to describe him was hungry.

I stood there, sure that my knees were about to give way beneath me. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and in doing so, found the back of my hand brushing against the hand of the blonde-haired girl standing beside me. I could feel her shaking. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, hoping to both give comfort to and draw it from her.

The motion attracted Derek’s attention. I’d never felt more vulnerable than I did the moment Derek Novak’s electric blue eyes settled on me. His gaze betrayed the thoughts roaming his mind. I was a lamb – a lamb ready for slaughter.

CHAPTER 6: DEREK

I couldn’t pry my eyes away from her. I wanted to stop, but I found myself inching closer.

She was beautiful to behold – not just because her physical appearance drew me in above and beyond that of the other girls. No. In my eyes, she was most beautiful because at a time when she had every right to be terrified, she managed to show comfort to another person who needed it.

The moment I saw her grab the hand of the girl beside her, all the others paled in comparison. She showed me a humanity I longed to return to.

But I was the predator. She was my prey. And even as I admired her for that one simple gesture, I was battling to prevent myself from relishing the sweet delicacy that she was to my kind.

I muttered several curses under my breath. I knew my sister well enough to know why she was putting me through this. She knew my struggle to maintain control when it came to satisfying my hunger. So it was the first thing she put to the test. Why on earth she was testing me was still something I had yet to figure out. Vivienne was known for her mind games, but especially with the young innocent redhead who caught my eye standing before me, I couldn’t help but think that this was Vivienne’s cruelest game yet.